Spirit Of Adventure
by FriedBrain2
Summary: The civilians' pain couldn't affect anyone other than Naruto, and he will have to endure that until he earns their acknowledge. However, when Shikamaru and Ino enter his life, everything will change, as he has made friends who will share with him all the gladness and splendor of an awesome adventure.
1. Real Friends

Chapter I

Real Friends

**Disclaimer:** What is Kishimoto's is Kishimoto's; I do not claim it. This story is not part of the original one, it's just something I created and its sole purpose is entertainment. Enjoy.

**Nara Sub-District, Konohagakure**

"_I'm leaving…_" Shikamaru said, trying to spend as less energy as he could in it.

"_Hai!_"His mum replied from the kitchen and, as if it was his permission, he then put his shoes on and left home.

He sighed in annoyance as he noticed the sky was totally clean; seems like he wouldn't be able to watch the clouds. There were many valid reasons why he didn't feel like going to the Academy that day, the main one being the fact that it was quite troublesome. His mum had woken him up too early, his bed was too comfy and learning was too toilsome. Seemed like fairly reasonable motives.

Besides, he couldn't avoid falling asleep in class most of the times and, because Iruka-sensei caught him almost as many times as he did it, he usually had to stay after school and listen to his teacher's educational and memorized speeches. Of course this was a shared punishment, because Choji decided he would start the Rebellion by devouring chips during every single lesson, which basically gave him an obligatory entrance card for the said discourses.

His slow pace normally gave him the opportunity to observe people and decide how troublesome they were: this was what he liked to do on his way to the Academy. As he turned to his left, taking a shortcut, he saw a blonde kid inelegantly running in his direction. He was able to recognize him when he passed by: he was also one of the gentlemen that liked to stay for Iruka-sensei's speeches. Though he didn't recall his name, Shikamaru knew that the boy was the number one prankster in Konohagakure and was hated by almost every civilian in the village. People called him the "demon brat", turned their backs on him whenever he passed by and basically wished he just disappeared. On the other end, the kid made sure people didn't forget about him by turning them into targets of caper.

Plus, the mischief-maker kept on missing school whenever he wanted, which everybody seemed to justify with his parents being dead and him not having anyone to tell him what was right or wrong. Not such a fairly reasonable motive, in Shikamaru's opinion.

The blonde had already escaped when an old woman came running as she shook her broom in the air and yelled: "_Come back here, you useless brat!_" But the brat didn't come back, and the lady was left with her threatening mumbles as she walked back to her store, now totally painted with quite catching colours. It was by realizing how terribly exhausting that lady's task to clean her store would be that he had a feeling that his own day would be troublesome.

**Hokage's office**

Hiruzen sat behind his desk with a somewhat serious face. A long morning conditioned by eleven towers of paperwork was ahead of him, but that wasn't what was worsening his mood, as he was already used to it. Something else was on his mind, or rather _someone_. He had received Iruka's report about his Academy class earlier in the morning and it didn't quite correspond to his definition of "pleasant". However, it was expected.

"_Uchiha Sasuke continues to be the most brilliant student of the class, his performance in the tasks given being particularly close to perfect; he also seems to count with the support of his teammates, especially the girls._

_Haruno Sakura is having a hard time fitting in and is frequently bullied – reality that I am endeavouring to change – but her marks stay prodigious and Sakura is still an honour student._

_Ino Yamanaka is a well-behaved and self-assured learner and, even though her marks aren't the highest, she is finely improving._"

Until this point, everything was adequate. The Hokage continued with his reading: it didn't change much from student to student, being the majority of them obedient children. He quickly got to the bottom of the page, where his source of concern rested, waiting to be read.

"_The three following students are the ones I'm most apprehensive about._

_The first one is Akimichi Choji: he is a very kind and caring boy to everyone around him, but I'm afraid his love for food may be put on first plan, which makes him lack on his academic affairs. He spends his time eating – even in classes. Plus, his personality blocks him from sparing with his teammates, which highly reflects on his results._

_Nara Shikamaru is the second student who is a source of my anxiety. If I had to choose one word to define him I would say lukewarm. I do think he has great potential, especially being a member and the future head of the Nara clan, but if this potential isn't unleashed, what does it serve for? He simply spends his day sleeping. _

_Finally, Uzumaki Naruto. What should I say about him, Hokage-sama? He constantly misses classes, he pranks all his teammates – who also neglect him, truth to be told –, he is unmindful of the social formalities… His marks are quite terrible, too."_

There was no need for further reading: he knew the rest already. The boy was indeed causing several problems, the last being a case of vandalism. He had tried talking to him countless times, verifying that it didn't seem to work, as the brat continued to prank mercilessly. So what could he-

"_Is there a problem, Hokage-sama? You seem troubled._" Mizuki leaned on the doorframe, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"_I thought I had told Kameko I didn't want to be bothered._" He replied dryly. Though he deeply trusted all his fellow ninjas, Mizuki had always aroused a little feeling of untrustworthiness on him. The silver haired young man walked to the centre of the office with his hands on his pockets.

"_Oh, I'm profoundly sorry. I didn't see anyone on my way here…_" Was he even trying to sound sincere? "_Well, now that I am here, please allow me to expose my request._"

"_Go on." _The Hokage took out a pile of papers which he immediately started to sign.

"_I would like to be appointed the leader of a team, this year." _Hiruzen paralysed for a second there. "_I would even say I have preferences in what relates to my future students. That kid… Naruto. Yes, that's it. The little foxy child. I think I am the most suitable person for the job._"

Was he seriously asking what he thought he was asking? Ever since his childhood, Mizuki had spent his life contesting about _everything_, as he seemed to think he was constantly being wronged in comparison with the rest of his mates, especially regarding Iruka. This often resulted in a lack of teamwork experience by him. How could a man with such behaviours teach kids that cooperation was one of the most important aspect in being a ninja?

"_I'm sorry, Mizuki-san. I'm afraid the team leaders have already been chosen." _It was a half-lie. He wasn't sure yet, but he already had an idea of who they were.

"_I see… Well, I won't take more of your time, then._" The Hokage's reply to his appeal had been somewhat expected. "_Damn…" _The silver haired thought as he walked to the door. "_The old man is hard go around. What am I thinking? He is the Hokage, after all… This shouldn't be a problem though. I'll just have to go with Plan B!"_

The Hokage sighed in relief when the young man left his office, not as happy as he was when he entered. However, he couldn't rest assured yet. He didn't know why Mizuki had asked for such a job title but, knowing him, he should have a pretty good reason. He would have to keep an eye on him. Focusing once again on his paper pile, he switched pens and got to work.

**In the evening, somewhere near Ichiraku's Ramen**

Man, it had been a troublesome day… Iruka-sensei had been especially focused on him that day, which meant he hadn't had the chance to sleep the _whole_ time. Plus, the afternoon had been filled with physical training, such as endurance, aiming and, finally, spars. These were the worst. He wasn't properly the best in class. The girls always cheered up for Sasuke in their squeaky and maddening way, which meant that whenever the people sparing were not Sasuke, they would either totally ignore the fight by sighing and yawning or they would boo – this was what happened most of the times. Today, his sparing mate had been Choji. He couldn't really complain because his friend was so compassionate that he hadn't been able to lay a single hit on him. The bad part was that, because of that, Ino decided that he would have to walk her home – he didn't understand either, but what choice did he have?

So there he was, walking alongside with a troublesome girl, listening to her tedious speech about how handsome Sasuke was and how he should be more like him. Oh, and those clothes were so unfashionable… Seriously, someday she would take him shopping! Did he see that man there, sitting on that roof with Naruto?

She grabbed his arm and pushed him against a wall. Few people were walking around there, mainly given the fact that, when the sun started to set down, the civilians tended to go home and stay there. The two kids stayed very quiet, their back against the cold surface.

"_What are we doing?_" Shikamaru whispered. He had an idea though.

"_Listening. So shut up._" Ino whispered back, confirming his guess. The Jinchuuriki and a silver haired ninja were having a pretty emotional conversation, which easily caught Ino's attention but wasn't Shikamaru's type of show, really.

"_I don't understand, Mizuki-sensei." _Naruto said. His voice was trembling a little bit, so he could be crying. _"Even Iruka-sensei looks at me as he hated me. Why? I know I pranked him a few times, but… The graduation exams are close. I need to train more to master as many jutsus as I can, Mizuki-sensei! I won't fail again. Can you help me?"_

"_Of course, Naruto-kun. And I know just how you can do it! You see, there is something called the Scroll of Seals. It's in the Hokage Residence. If you can get it and learn one technique in its interior, you are assured to graduate."_

Shikamaru gulped. He had read about the Scroll of Seals in his dad's documents before and he knew the First Hokage had sealed it for a fairly reasonable motive. He felt a drop of sweat down his head as he wished he hadn't listened to that conversation. Ino noticed his sudden change of humour and deduced something wasn't right. They quickly got out of there, as soundlessly as they could, and they hurriedly arrived at Ino's home, heavily breathing. However, she demanded a more accurate explanation before she could let him go.

"_Listen, Ino: we'll fake we didn't hear any of that."_

"_Why…? What was that Scroll of Seals… that the man was talking about?"_

"_It basically contains techniques, but some of them are really dangerous, so Hashirama-sama sealed it... It's supposed to be a really big deal… If Naruto steals it, even if he doesn't know what he's coping with, things will grow dim."_

Ino clenched her fists in determination, and Shikamaru knew what was coming – he didn't like it. "_We have to help him!" _Her eyes widened and she leaned forward, expecting an answer that, either positive or negative, probably wouldn't change her course of action.

"_You do realize we have close to no chance of succeeding." _She nodded, confirming his fears. He sighed. Would that day _ever_ end? "_Fine. But let's be quick."_

**At night, in the Third Training Ground**

Naruto sat down in the grass, distancing exactly the same expanse between the two forests on the sides. He had noticed that the memorial stone was shinier than ever with the moon reflecting its white surface on the obscure kunai-shaped monument. Everything was silent, with the exception of the sparkling water of the stream rapidly running downriver, as it was lamming from something it didn't want to see happening. He laid the big scroll on the floor, sighing as he thought he had a long night of study ahead of him. Unrolling the sacred document, his chin fell wide open with the sight of so many techniques. It surely was impressing.

"_Naruto…" _He slightly jumped in surprise: he thought he was alone! Where had that whisper come from? He looked around, still not knowing if he should be annoyed that someone had interrupted his training session or excited that he could share his newfound source of knowledge.

"_Naruto, close that scroll!" _He heard again. Shikamaru? The pineapple head was ineffectively hiding behind a tree.

It was while he was still looking at the drowsy boy and trying to figure out why he was both hiding and telling him what to do that Ino came running from the other side, barely giving the Jinchuuriki time to react and, grabbing the scroll with her right arm and closing it during her foot race, she headed straight towards the Nara boy. The blonde didn't understand why they were doing such a thing, but because people were constantly making his life harder, it wasn't much of a surprise. He quickly got up to his feet and gave the persecution a start, jumping through the forest, from branch to branch, as a feeling of revolt increased, making his heartbeat speed up.

As he tried to focus on not losing sight of the two little thieves that were constantly exiting and entering his line of sight, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about how unfair his live was. He was simply trying to study. What was wrong with that? They were probably doing this just to pick on him, which was quite surprising because, for all he knew, Shikamaru wasn't the type of guy that enjoying moving and Ino… She barely ever looked at him. Why would she start pranking him _now_? He eventually concluded that there must have been some reason behind their acts – other than just the wonderful delight of a good practical joke. This drove him to relax a little bit, but he couldn't get a hold of his curiosity now.

Sooner or later, the three youngsters arrived at the housing zone of the village, being the aim of many distressed looks from several citizens who were stolen their relaxation. Ino and Shikamaru immediately headed their separate ways down through the streets so they wouldn't be noticed by their chaser. Now what? Ino had the scroll, right? He straightaway jumped to the floor below and followed the sound of the exclamations by the stupefied people along the streets. She most likely didn't know the village as well as him, because she soon arrived at a dead end. Plus, truth to be told, he wouldn't have caught her without the help of some shortcuts that only a few people were aware of.

She turned around and faced Naruto with a confident smirk on her face: the scroll was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't believe he had been so easily fooled! By this time, even if he went to chase after Shikamaru, he would never catch him. He didn't even know where the Nara had gone with his beloved scroll…

"_Naruto," _Ino sat down on the floor, cross-legged and a bit more serious now. "_there is something you need to know."_ Even though Shikamaru had been the only one to understand what Mizuki was planning without needing a clarification, she was intending to act as she had also perceived it immediately. After all, Naruto didn't need to know she had required an explanation from an addle-head boy like the Nara. "_You probably don't know, but the Scroll of Seals isn't just any common scroll."_

By this time, the blonde was already sitting face to face with her, absorbing everything she was saying, which pleased the girl immensely. However, it also surprised her. For all she knew (that wasn't much), the boy was really active, but he was now acting calm and serene.

She then went on with the discourse, passing through the great importance of the scroll and how it was against the Law to just take it, the fact that Mizuki had fooled him – which, in the beginning, the Jinchuuriki refused to accept, as that would mean that he had been tricked twice that day, already – and, finally, adding the logic conclusion that could be taken from all that: Mizuki wanted the scroll for himself, which obviously made of him a traitor.

"_Where is Shikamaru?"_ Ino had explained practically everything, so there wasn't much more he could ask besides that.

"_Somewhere." _Oh yes, _that_ was clarifying. _"Putting the scroll on its place before you get in trouble, baka!"_ She got up and walked away, disappearing into the busy streets, between the citizens, and leaving Naruto to his own thoughts.

**Later on that night, at Ichiraku's Ramen**

The smell of hot ramen was one of the best, in Naruto's opinion. No… the smell of Ichiraku's hot ramen was one of the best! He was still mentally debating over what had happened earlier that day. Ino and Shikamaru had saved him from one of the worst things he'd ever done! Why…? Maybe they were going to use that against him, like blackmail or something… He was seriously expecting anything. Was he overreacting? No one had ever done anything like that for him… And that bastard Mizuki had still gotten away with it! They couldn't denounce him without referring this whole incident. And they couldn't refer this whole incident… Dammit!

"_Oyasumi!"_ He looked back to see Iruka-sensei entering the stall and sitting next to him. Taking out a couple of chopsticks, Naruto went for the first and very awaited bite of his ramen bowl. _"Hi Naruto. I knew I would find you here!"_ His teacher said with a big smile on his face. "_One bowl for me, please!"_

Naruto had to admit he was getting quite nervous about his sensei's presence there, now. This was _not_ a good time. He had come there to be alone for a bit and the brown-haired ninja had still been able to find him. Thinking it over, maybe Ichiraku's Ramen could have been a bad choice, since he went there to eat pretty much all the time… But still, it was so late, already… Had Iruka-sensei gone there on purpose just to talk to him? Maybe their encounter there hadn't been just a random coincidence… He didn't want to be the one to screw up the plan Ino and Shikamaru had so strenuously executed. No. He had to keep calm, or his teacher would see right through him. He was telling himself _«Calm down»_ for the seventeenth time already when he was awakened by the ninja's voice again.

"_So, Naruto… Is everything OK?"_ Iruka-sensei received his own bowl of ramen and began eating.

"_H-hai! Everything's fine. It's fine."_ Chikusho! He was too tense. He had to get out of there. _Now_. He hurriedly and clumsily finished his ramen. _"Arigato, Teuchi-san! Sayona-" _His teacher grabbed his left arm the moment he got out of his chair and was preparing to leave.

"_Listen." _Iruka looked him eyes in the eyes. The blonde had never seen him more serious. _"I don't know if you meant it or not, but I can assure you everything is fine. Mizuki has been punished."_ Naruto's eyes widened. It was no longer necessary for Iruka to hold his arm, as he wasn't going anywhere before he got an explanation. How had his sensei discovered about it?

"_He tried to take advantage of you" _He continued._ "but Ino and Shikamaru saved you. Plus, Hokage-sama seemed to be already expecting it, as he immediately unmasked the whole situation. You've some real friends in those two kids, you know?"_

That last phrase hit him like a gunshot. Real… friends? He stared at the ground below him thinking about those two words and, with a "_Tch…"_, a couple of happiness tears slipped down his cheeks. Iruka-sensei instinctively involved his student in an affectionate hug.

"_Are you up for another bowl? It's on me."_

**After-chapter annotation: **this is my first Fanfiction, so I'm sorry for any inaccuracies I may have committed! As you probably already figured, the story will be mainly focused on Naruto, Shikamaru and Ino, because I started wondering how the story would change if Naruto was closer to other characters… Also, I know I messed a little bit with time, here, as I put the Mizuki incident before the graduation exams (I just felt it would make more sense given the new circumstances). Anyway, reviews would be much appreciated!

Also, I wanted to thank Tellemicus Sundance for all the help!


	2. Conflict Between Teams

Chapter II

Conflict Between Teams

**Disclaimer:** What is Kishimoto's is Kishimoto's; I do not claim it. This story is not part of the original one, it's just something I created and its sole purpose is entertainment. Enjoy.

**A month and a half later**

"_Naruto! I'll rip your ear off!" _Ino shouted as she cleaned the mud out of her face. Her eyes were shining in rage as her face resembled more and more a tomato. Her light-coloured hair was also covered in noisome dirt and not even her clothes had escaped Naruto's despicable show of «talent».

Earlier, as she was walking to the Academy, she had found Sakura and, just when she was in the middle of a fast-walk race with the Billboard Brow, the blonde had appeared out of nowhere asking for her help for a «little project» he was preparing. She, of course, refused to do it, as it would mean a loss of her part in the forever-lasting competition between her and the pink-haired loser, but Naruto hadn't given her any other choice, as he just firmly grabbed her arm and dragged her.

Anyway, his intention was to cover the Hokage monument with mud – very original – and he had even created a scaffolding system with some wooden boards and old ropes, rooted to the top limit of the cliff with rusty nails (not such a safe devising, in her opinion, but he was the one who was going to dangle in there, not her). Her task was to walk from one side to another of the monument escarpment and check if none of the nails jumped out with the boy's weight. At first, she didn't worry much as she considered the assignment stress-free but, when Naruto began his operation, alarming visions emerged in her brain as she tried to find the best course of action in the case of any misfortune happened to occur.

This quickly escalated to a state of pre-tragedy depression, as the slightest noise would make her jump in surprise and her heartbeat would hasten substantially. It was when Naruto finally gave a life signal from down below that this happened once more.

"_Oi, Ino!"_ His voice echoed and, as she leaned forward to look at him, she noticed that the work was about eighty percent done, already. _"Will you pass me another bucket?" _Oh yes, this was also part of her «job». She grabbed a mud container's handle with both hands, as its weight was almost as much as she could grip, and kneeled down near the cliff edge, trying to pass the object as softly as she could. Then it all happened very quickly: she lost her balance and, forgetting to let go of the bucket, she fell down to the wooden board where Naruto was standing, making it bounce like it was alive.

Like it wasn't enough already, one of the nails that was holding the platform jumped out, making it tilt to the left. Both kids were thrown to that same direction and, while Naruto managed to sit on the border and grab the rope that was still holding, Ino lost her equilibrium and found herself hanging in the air, only clutching herself to the board with one of her arms. Looking down – which was something she then realized she shouldn't have done – Ino let out a moan of pure affliction.

The blonde-haired boy instinctively clung to her arm and the mud bucket, which had earlier landed upwards, slid down the board and struck right in the girl head, dirtying her whole body. The Uzumaki gathered his forces and pulled her up, letting out a whimper and, taking advantages of the little time they had until the platform would totally loosen up, he jumped up to the top of the monument, shouldering the girl behind him.

Ino was violently trembling in fright and the bucket was still on her head, hiding her probably horrified face. As an experienced pranker Naruto was, he knew ninjas would be coming soon to check out what was happening – the majority of the monument was still covered in dirt, after all. As he was about to grab her arm and run, she slowly took the pail out of her head and used the most threatening voice she could.

"_Naruto! I'll rip your ear off!"_

He immediately understood that the future mad and scolding ninjas weren't the only people he would have to run away from. However, in the midst of all that, he managed to remember something really important: it was the day that Iruka-sensei would finally announce the teams and their leaders! He had been waiting for that particular speech for _way_ too much time and he was probably late, already. As the girl didn't seem to remember what day it was, given the fact that she was too busy being a human hurricane, he decided the best tactic would be luring her into the class.

He jumped down through the long stairs that gave entrance to the civilian-filled streets of Konoha. It wasn't much of an adrenaline rush, as the Academy was just a few meters away from the Hokage monument, so he quickly got to his classroom – even with a little yet furious mud-monster behind him – and, as he opened the door gloriously, he made an illustrious pose and a huge grin grew on his scratched face. Uzumaki Naruto had arrived!

However, his triumphant appearance was rather destroyed, as Ino was still raving when she entered the classroom herself, deciding that it would be the perfect place to smash Naruto to a pathetic state, getting her payback for the earlier incident. While this was still in progress, the remaining students watched – some in delight, others in concern and one particular boy in the back seemed to be quite bored, to be honest.

"_Mattaku…"_ Shikamaru sighed. He had been woken up.

**About an hour later, after a reconciliation session and a long speech**

"_Thanks to some cooperative students," _Iruka-sensei said as he glared at Naruto and Ino, the irony being considerably remarkable on his voice. _"we lost precious time and we must carry on with the lesson. The three-man squads were arranged taking into account the abilities of each one of you and the balance of powers. I will now announce them. Squad 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke."_

The blonde was glad he was put in the same team as Sakura-chan, since he had had a little crush on the girl for a while now and, even if Sasuke was not his dream partner, he wouldn't let that sadden his day. Also, he had been wishing to be placed in either Shikamaru or Ino's squad, which hadn't happened but, despite all these colliding feelings, he still got up from where he was sitting – to the pink girl's right – and, raising his arms in cheerfulness, he yelled _"Yeaaah!"_, as the girl hit her head on the table. For her, the sorrow of being in the same team as Naruto overpowered the joy of being in Sasuke's squad.

Iruka-sensei continued. _"Squad 8: Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino." _Poor Hinata… Naruto didn't know her very well, but he knew enough to understand that Kiba was a smug and a jerk, while Shino was… pretty weird. _"Squad 10: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji." _Well, at least his two friends had been put together. Though the squads weren't exactly as he had idealized, he could work with it. _"You can go and have lunch now, kids. Come back after it to meet your jounin leaders."_

The newfound squads left the classroom chatting about all those new things, sounding whole-hearted and motivated. The majority of those students wouldn't even pass the jounins' tests or go on a mission.

**During lunchtime**

Squad 10 were sitting in a bench in a fine-looking community garden – it was the calmest place they had found – busying themselves with some Onigiri and fries as Ino was firmly setting all the "squad rules", as she had called them, very clearly. In Shikamaru's perspective, she wasn't a bad person or anything. He appraised her as a friend, but she was still a girl and, therefore, troublesome. As much as she tried, she probably wouldn't be able to change his thought on the matter. He couldn't complain, though. She had quite improved in this regard, as she was now below Sakura in his scale of "troublesomeness".

She suddenly shut up, as the only noise that could be heard was of Choji and his rebel chips. He then saw the now called Team 7 coming their way. Naruto walked proudly, his hands lying on the back of his head and his forehead protector as shiny as new. Sakura – who was surprisingly silent – had her hands behind her back and was strategically walking closer and closer to Sasuke, who lied his fists on his pockets and seemed to be paying close attention to everything around him.

Shikamaru suddenly had the feeling trouble was coming, as he glanced at Ino's face, perceiving that the girl was going to explode at any given moment. Choji, on the other hand, kept focusing on his snack, not even realizing what was about to happen – or not wanting to realize, probably. He leaned back on the bench and, as much as he didn't really appreciate drama, prepared for the upcoming show.

"_Sakura…" _Ino murmured in anger. However, this mumble seemed to have been a little too loud, as the pink-haired looked down at her and, with an evil grin growing larger in her face, wrapped her arm in Sasuke's, who released an annoyed _"Tch…" _and looked away. On the other hand, Naruto whined a big _"Sakura-chan…"_ and released his lethal glower at the Uchiha, who totally ignored it. As this roll of events went on, the Yamanaka girl got up from her sit and blocked their way, her hands on her waist.

"_Hey Sakura, Choji has some of those chips you like so much…" _She provoked. The blonde girl may have been already preparing that tease, as she seemed to know exactly what to say next. _"You don't need to hide it anymore. We all know you can't get rid of those extra pounds!" _Sakura blushed exceedingly, letting go of Sasuke's arm. The smart, talkative and confident image she wanted to pass to others was totally ruined when she got speechless, not knowing what to do next.

"_If it helps,"_ Naruto intervened. _"I think-"_

"_Shut up!"_ The insulted girl immediately replied. Though she wouldn't cry, she didn't want to be embarrassed like that in front of Sasuke, so she madly walked away, stamping her feet on the ground and clenching her fists next to her waist. Ino looked back at her own team, a grin filling her face, as she was probably expecting some kind of abetment from the Nara and the Akimichi – which she didn't receive.

She was really feeling some sort of joy in what she was doing, wasn't she? It was then that even Choji looked up from his food. The pure evil and rivalry of true fan girls was still incomprehensible in the eyes of her teammates. Shikamaru was sent a chill down his spine as he thought about all the time he would have to put up with all the girly challenges and tantrums. There was a quite simple word to define all that: _troublesome_.

**In the afternoon, back in the classroom**

Naruto carefully notched the eraser covered in chalk powder between the door and the doorframe, slightly chuckling as he imagined the scene that would thereafter take place. He didn't care about what people said: pranks were purely gratifying. Sakura had been mumbling unpleasant things to Ino, even if the Yamanaka was no longer there, as she had already set out with the rest of her squad and their leader, a serious-looking bearded man. The pink kunoichi was so offended with what had happened at lunchtime that she didn't even interrupt her mumbling to scold Naruto, as she normally did when she caught the boy preparing a prank.

As for Sasuke, he just kept sitting there, near the window, with his head resting on his hands, his fingers interlaced. The Uchiha, despite arousing in Naruto a feeling of slight irritation just by looking at him, also made him curious. Always looking at something else, beyond what was really there, the perfect student always seemed to be somewhere else, always thinking about something else, always being someone else. Had he awaken his Sharingan already? Naruto suddenly realized he didn't know as much as he thought he did about his own team. That was something he would have to do.

It was when he was about to totally dive in his own thoughts that he heard the noise of the door being opened and, subsequently, of a certain eraser falling on a certain jounin's head. Naruto couldn't believe it had actually worked! It was a remarkable achievement: he had just tricked a jounin, after all! At least, that's what he thought when he jumped in triumph to then burst out laughing. The silver-haired squad leader seemed indifferent, though, as he just walked to the centre of the dais and said _"Oh yes… It is a remarkable first impression, the one I have of you." _Sarcasm totally ruled in his dialogue.

Sasuke sighed, totally blaming Naruto who seemed slightly confused at his leader's reaction. Sakura finally woke up from her retaliating mumbling and started scanning the newcomer, evaluating the person that would henceforward be her teacher. He had actually fallen for such a cheap trick! How had he been promoted to jounin?

After sometime, the three students were sitting in a little group of stairs, on the top of a building that also served as a big porch, near the Academy, with their sensei leaning on the handrail that contoured the whole space. Cross-armed and totally relaxed, the so called Kakashi wore an indifferent expression behind his dark mask.

"_So, I'm Hatake Kakashi. Now why don't you introduce yourselves? Tell me about your likes and dislikes, your hobbies, your dreams for the future…" _If it had been said with another inflection, it would actually seem like he cared. Naruto straightaway offered himself to be the first one – even if he thought that the sensei had given them a suspiciously tiny amount of info about himself.

"_My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage! That's my dream!" _Well, those were quite high prospects. _"I really like ramen, but I hate the three minutes it takes to cook… And I also like the aiming competitions I sometimes do with Ino and Shikamaru! About my hobbies… well, I prank." _Prank? Yeah, Kakashi had heard of it. The kid had grown up in quite an interesting way… He actually brought back some happy memories, as he acted pretty much like the jounin's former teammate.

"_Next…"_ He blinked at the silent Uchiha as he predicted what he would say, given the fact that he had been watching him for a few days now and he knew some crucial data about the kid's past.

"_My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't particularly like anything, but I do dislike a lot of things. If training can be considered a hobby, it is my only one. Dreams for the future… Kill. A certain. Man."_ Naruto flinched with the thought of that man being him. What had he done? He looked at his teammate, an alarmed expression on his face, as he then noticed that Kakashi-sensei was also studying the dark boy, probably startled with his cryptic presentation.

"_Alright…"_ He finally let out, demonstrating a pretty relaxed state of mind, after all. _"Now, you…" _He stared at Sakura, making her blush slightly.

"_I'm Haruno Sakura!"_ She sounded pretty enthusiastic… _"I like…" _She shyly looked at Sasuke, blushing even more than before, which made Kakashi sigh in monotony. _"I dislike Naruto!" _At this infuriated statement, the blonde whined _"Sakura-chan…",_ who continued her introduction by telling her sensei about her hobbies and dreams for the future – the answer was always Sasuke.

"_I guess these ones are just like all the others…" _Kakashi thought as he remembered all the squads he had failed. _"This team dynamics is just not… «teamly»." _

A little part of him wanted them to fail. The girl didn't seem to be much of a problem: she just needed some notion of sympathy and compassion. However, in what regarded to the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki and the Uchiha massacre survivor… They would give a _lot_ of work.

Naruto would certainly be hard to discipline, as the boy seemed to have a free spirit. A _really_ free spirit. Just by looking at him, he could practically see an aura of impulsiveness and disorder – despite the obvious problem of him having a giant fox inside him and not even knowing about it!

Concerning Sasuke, extinguishing that thirst for revenge inside of him wouldn't properly be a piece of cake, as the young boy seemed tremendously fixated on his plan. Also, he expected to soon discover if the fella had already awaken his Sharingan or not, but knowing his brother's talent and his parents' excellence, he expected the Uchiha youngster to be outstanding.

"_Good. We are having our first mission tomorrow." _He saw Naruto flinching and preparing himself to interrupt him – probably to let others know how excited he was about it and to add a bunch of questions – so the jounin immediately started explaining, not even losing time. _"It is going to be a survival exercise. It has nothing to do with the exercises you did at the Academy, and if you fail – which the majority of the students does – you go back there." _He had always found it delightful to see the fear faces of his dear pupils as he told them all that, but he had to admit Sasuke was holding it back quite well. Actually, he hadn't moved an inch.

"_I will decide if you pass or fail. Please, be at the third training ground tomorrow at five in the morning. Don't forget your ninja equipment." _He aroused from his sit and stretched up, letting out a yawn._ "You're dismissed." _As he saw his students preparing themselves to leave, he added: _"Oh… If I were you, I would skip breakfast…" _After glancing at their cringed faces and letting out a slight chuckle, he left.

**Hokage's office**

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up from his papers as he heard a slight knock on the door. As he was expecting, Iruka walked in with a gloomy face and a tired look. He couldn't say he didn't know what the ninja wanted to talk to him about. Sighing, the Hokage put his paperwork aside as he focused on the pineapple head, who immediately exposed his complaint.

"_Hokage-sama," _he started. _"I'm aware that Naruto's squad was put under Kakashi's lead. I'm also aware that Kakashi has never – not even once – passed any of his pupils."_

"_Iruka…" _The old man replied with a peaceful voice, trying to pass a little bit of his serenity to the uneasy Academy teacher. _"I knew you would be uncomfortable with the situation, but Kakashi-san was right about every single student he failed. I deeply trust him, and you should too." _Hiruzen rested his head on his hands as he played with a pen between his old fingers. _"You must keep in mind that, either they pass or fail, it was because they were still unbaked; it has nothing to do with Kakashi."_

"_H-hai…" _The brown-haired man replied, still a bit unconvinced. How could he possibly accept what was happening so easily? Only him truly knew how hard Naruto had worked to reach that point, just to be failed by a depressed and lonely ninja that had been enough stubborn to fail every single student of his. He was awaken from these thoughts when someone else knocked on the door. Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu entered the office, their clothes dirty with mud as they dragged their feet, looking exhausted.

Iruka faced them, quite surprised. _"You two have been having a rough day, huh?"_ He released a trivial chortle, truly not wanting to seem like he was making fun of them, and momentarily forgetting about his worries.

"_Hokage-sama…" _Izumo spoke up, gasping. _"The Hokage monument is… finally clean."_

**After-chapter annotation: **I know this chapter didn't have much action, but I needed to make a little introduction, as I pretend the next one to be all about Kakashi's test and the teams' training. I am thinking about not doing the bell test (I wanted to change things a bit from the original story, as it is fanfictions' function); I am already making up some hypothesis about what the new test could be like. Also, Naruto should be going on his first mission in Chapter IV so, as you can predict, action is coming! Plus, if you're liking it so far or you have any suggestion, be sure to send some reviews!

A big thanks to Tensa-Zangetsu102, who was the first follower!


	3. A Game Of Cards

Chapter III

A Game Of Cards

**Disclaimer:** What is Kishimoto's is Kishimoto's; I do not claim it. This story is not part of the original one, it's just something I created and its sole purpose is entertainment. Enjoy.

**Third Training Ground, 9 a.m.**

"_How much longer will we have to wait?!"_

Sitting cross-legged on the grass, Sasuke quickly came to the rational deduction that Naruto wasn't patient. At all. Seriously, he had been whining ever since Kakashi's delay had reached half an hour, and the jounin was already late by four hours, so the blonde's voice was rather... exasperating. Plus, Sakura punched him every ten minutes, approximately, so the Uchiha quickly draw another conclusion: she was quite jumpy.

It was when he was trying to take these useless thoughts out of his brain that the silver-haired ninja arrived, landing from an apparently sourceless jump.

"_Hello." _He said, smiling from under his mask, but using a totally absentminded voice.

"_Hello?!" _Naruto immediately yelled, apparently indignant. "Do you have any idea how mu-" SMASH!

"_Respect your sensei! Baka!" _Sakura had just smacked him in the head once more, making both Sasuke and Kakashi sigh. The jounin leader could almost literally _see_ their lack of teamwork! The foxy kid apparently spent his time annoying the dark-haired boy, who gladly ignored him. Concerning the girl, she despised the first and adored the second, which was, at least, not good.

"_Let's get started, shall we?" _Kakashi finally said, taking out an alarm clock and putting it on the floor. _"I'll explain the exercise for you. There are four hidden cards in this training field, which is pretty big, as you can predict. There are two light cards, the white ones, and two darkness cards, the black ones. You have until midday to get here with one of each. If you don't," _His expression darkened as he turned his back on his students. _"you go back to the Academy."_

For a couple of seconds the kids said nothing, as they cringed in expectation and a bit of fear, but Naruto was the first one to come out of it. _"Wait a second, sensei! Then one of us is failing this test for sure!"_

"_You're right." _The jounin replied as unconcerned as always, still not facing his students and putting his hands on his pockets. _"What can I say…? I like to make it more of a… challenge."_

"_Fine!" _Sakura snapped out of it. _"If all we have to do is to find two simple cards, than that's what I am going to do."_

"_Don't be so confident." _Kakashi looked at her with a whimsical smirk on his face. _"I do not plan to make it that easy. But enough chat. This test will start in three, two, one…"_

**Sasuke's viewpoint**

The leaves rustled with the wind as he stepped forward, carefully calculating every stride. He had been looking for the cards for some time now and, though he had been telling himself to calm down, he had to admit that the suspense was making his heartbeat slightly rush. He was expecting one of Kakashi's traps to soon come out, as everything had been very quiet ever since the test started and he had fled through the forest of the training field.

It was about this time that the silver-haired ninja came out from behind a tree. Had he been there for long? Sasuke hadn't noticed a thing! The man put his right hand on his pocket and took out a darkness card, grinning proudly and wagging it in the air. Oh, that was going to be fun…

The Uchiha took a battle stance, pulling out a _kunai_ and squinting at his opponent, who just put the card back where it was and took out his adored book, which he quickly opened and started reading. This even made the kid's determination to defeat him grow. For the next few moments, they both stood still, not even flinching. Then, in a split of a second, Sasuke lowered his body and rushed towards his teacher, making it for a punch in the stomach, which obviously failed when the jounin dodged and hit the kid on his back, making him lose balance and falling forward.

Taking advantage of the swing, he rolled, turned around to Kakashi's direction while he was still on a lower plan and then got up, clenching his right fist and going for a punch on the man's chin. His attack didn't quite strike as he had planned, but he could swear it had almost landed, as he felt Kakashi's skin slightly scraping on his hand. Trusting on his _taijutsu _and his indeed remarkable speed, the boy tried landing some blows on his sensei's face but, as quickly as lightning, the bloke dodged them in an agile movement of his head and neck.

It was the master's time to take the offensive now. Not as fast as he could, the silver-haired stretched his palm to Sasuke's face and, as the kid was busy dodging it, he landed a kick on his foe's torso, sending him rolling over until he hit a tree. The Uchiha didn't take long to painfully stand up and, not even losing time, he started running in circles around his teacher, faster and faster. However, Kakashi was too experienced to just be fooled by that and he could clearly read his pupil's movements.

When he thought he would catch the jounin off guard, Sasuke broke the vicious cycle and once again hurried en route for the man, trying to go for his legs. In a quick reflex, the full-fledged ninja hit the lad's stomach with his knee, making him cough and land on the grass. Sliding a couple of meters and gaining balance to again approach, the dark-haired got hit on the face by the man's elbow.

When the genin finally realized he had no chance of achieving his goal with his improvable _taijutsu_ skills, Sasuke moved a few meters away from the sensei, thinking about his next strategy. It took him less than a second to entwine wire strings in his fingers and to start running around in circles once again. However, this time he interlaced the strings between the many trees all around the jounin, creating a ring with twine walls.

Of course Kakashi could have gotten out of there before the kid had even half-finished it, but he seriously wanted to check out what he was cooking up. Closing and packing up his treasured little book, the jounin took out a _kunai_ and, before he could throw it and rupture that stringed cocoon, Sasuke started to throw _senbon_ from every direction through the tiny holes of the complex web, making it compulsory for the silver-haired to use the _kunai_ to block the needles.

It was in the highlight of the attack that one of the _senbon_ came from behind, transfixing through Kakashi's thigh and pocket, making him shrink in pain. Sasuke immediately broke the pod and caught the bloody needle attached to a particularly heartwarming black card.

Smirking in confidence, the Uchiha packed the card in his pocket and jumped away as quickly as he could.

"_Hmm… Fascinating." _Kakashi took out some bandages to cover his wound. _"Might as well let him go… He won't get the other card, anyway."_

**Sakura's viewpoint**

Peeking out from under a bush, the coast seemed to be clear, but she could never be sure. The only things that could be heard were the small birds' whistle and the river's water flowing ahead in her sight. Her brain was still processing everything that had happened earlier: the ambush, the card, the run for it…

Previously, as she was making her way through the field's forests, she had noticed that someone was following her. She immediately thought of either Sasuke or Naruto, so she did her best to outwit them. As it wasn't working at all, she decided to confront them at once by calling them out of their hiding. She knew she didn't have any cards and that she would be fighting to keep something she didn't even have possession of. However, she didn't pretend to let them know, as this was a chance for her to check out if they had one of the cards already and, with some luck, get it.

Nevertheless, she eventually discovered it wasn't any of her teammates: it was a small group of dogs. Plus, they were all dressed equally and wore Konoha's forehead protectors! Seriously… what? Was that why she couldn't foil them? Because of her _smell_? Instead of viewing them as enemies, she just burst out laughing at that ridicule sight, to then become very serious when the apparently indignant dogs began growling.

"_Listen, girl." _The littlest one stepped forward and said. _"One of us has something you want." _A card? _"Now run." _The animals jumped in every direction and disappeared between the tall trees. Getting over the fact that a dog had actually _talked_ to her, Sakura quickly reasoned that she wouldn't catch any of them if she just began wondering through the woodland, so she headed towards the river – a landmark – and hid under a bush, where she was now planning what to do next.

"_Dattebayo!"_ Naruto was standing next to the water ahead, holding a light card high as he celebrated his achievement. Was he stupid? Sakura facepalmed and sighed. She didn't know how the blonde had gotten the card, but she was planning on getting it while he was oblivious in his state of delight.

Not even thinking twice, she got out from her hideout and rushed towards the boy. As she was running, she came to hate the unexpectedly long time it was taking her to reach Naruto. That would definitely compromise her plan. Yet, when he overlooked her with a surprised expression, she was just two centimetres from his face, prepared to attack. She took out a _kunai_ and, as soon as the blade touched Naruto's orange jacket, he puffed away.

"_A clone?" _She guessed. _"I thought he couldn't-" _Before she could finish her line of reasoning, another Naruto appeared from above, throwing some _shuriken_ at her, which she successfully dodged, using her _kunai_.

Grabbing his wrist when he approached her, she threw him to the floor and punched him on the stomach, making him cough in pain. So that one was the real Naruto? Sakura quickly tried to check him for cards, but he instinctively rolled on the grass and got up, jumping a few meters away. She couldn't believe all of that had been a previously planned strategy to lure her into attacking him! She unwittingly began wondering how many other techniques the blonde had that she didn't know of.

**Naruto's viewpoint**

He knew he would have to fight Sakura-chan. The idea didn't please him but if that's what he had to do to pass that test, then he wouldn't even vacillate. Plus, he was pretty confident. The many training afternoons in those last six weeks with Shikamaru and Ino had allowed him to improve substantially in every aspect. His friends would ask their parents for advice and they would always share everything they had learned with him.

Sometimes, the Nara would ask his dad for some books about _chakra_ control and they would practise until the sun was down – well, at least him and Ino. Shikamaru would just fall asleep whenever he didn't feel like working, which was almost always. To tell the truth, Naruto admired the lazy head's ability to just sleep whenever he desired. Seriously, he would close his eyes and, a little time later, he would have already dived in a deep sea of unconsciousness.

It was thanks to them that the blonde could sincerely say he had some tricks up his sleeve which he pretended to start using very soon. Oh, he just couldn't wait to see Sasuke's face!

In what concerned to Kakashi-sensei's test, he had to admit it wasn't nearly as horrible as his teacher had made it sound. In his pocket already rested a tightly guarded light card, which he had obtained by extremely easy means. Earlier, as he was standing in a tree branch, finishing the ocean of traps he had installed all over the area, he heard one of the bells that meant that one of the pitfalls had been activated.

Rushing towards the sound's origin, he was surprised to see a dog hanging in the air, one of its hind paws rolled in a large rope that, in turn, was tied to a tree arm. _"Oh, I can't believe I fell for such a trick!" _He rubbed his ears in disbelief: the dog was talking! Pulling himself together, Naruto took the chance to vaunt a little bit.

"_That's what you get for trying to pass through Uzumaki Naruto's dominion!" _He put his hands on his waist in a sign of victory and glory.

"_Shut up, gaki!" _With a slight growl, the white and crested dog began shaking himself in the hope of being released. In the midst of all this movement, a light card fell from its dark cape and landed on the grass below, catching Naruto's attention. Was that what he thought it was?

"_Arigato!" _The blonde yelled while he ran away, carrying the card in his hand and the excitement on his face. He soon got to the river where he immediately spotted Sakura under a bush, not because she was doing something that was denouncing her, but because it was pretty easy to catch sight of a pink dot in the middle of all that green.

What was she doing there? Expecting someone to come to then ambush them? Maybe she had a card too, and she was looking for the other one. If she did, which one was it? There was only one way to find out…

And now there he was, face to face with his female teammate, about to start a surely stimulating fight. He expected her to have some tricks of her own, as she had always been a devoted student. Actually, he found himself looking forward to that battle: his heart hastened with the expectation and an excited grin grew on his face. It was time for his «Surprise Plan».

**Kakashi's viewpoint**

He still didn't know much about his students' abilities, so he was looking forward to the upcoming clash between Sakura and Naruto. Coming from behind a tree, a sat down on the grass and prepared himself for the show. He also found himself wondering where Sasuke was. He couldn't be far. It would be interesting to see him fight the blonde boy, actually…

Looking up to the battlefield, he noticed that Naruto had started running towards Sakura who, surprised by the fight's sudden start, only had time to clench her fists and take a defensive stance. When he thought he was close enough, the blonde went for a kick in the girl's torso, but she instinctively grabbed his leg and spin him around. Landing his palms on the ground, he put his weight on his arms and span his legs, tried once again to land a boot on the pink-haired.

Finding it hard to hold him any longer, Sakura jumped away to instantaneously go for it again, making it for a punch on Naruto's face but, as he successfully dodged, she was sent to the ground. She rolled to decrease the impact of the tumble and stood up, her face showing an expression of rage and bloodiness – something the boy had seen before, in a certain blonde girl's feature. What followed was a medley of punching attempts by both parts, which ended in them being slightly tired and moving away a couple of meters.

Naruto jumped and Sakura jumped with him as they exchanged bangs and blows in midair. And then, when they both landed and once again backed up a little bit, the blonde lad smirked confidently and went through a couple of hand seals. The girl's eyes widened as she recognized the _jutsu_ from what she had learned in the Academy. She didn't know he could do that!

"_Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" _He yelled as dozens of clones appeared, making a circle around his opponent, who just stared at the sea of orange that was being formed.

This surely caught Kakashi's attention. For all he knew, Naruto had passed his graduation exam with a poor Henge No Jutsu, making himself look like a slightly fatter Iruka. This was different, though. What the kid was making wasn't just a bunch of illusions, they were solid clones, and for that he had surely trained a lot more than the jounin had expected.

With a synchronized war cry, the clones launched their attack, running or jumping towards the girl, who was hardly keeping up, as she didn't seem to be fast enough with her _taijutsu_ skills. Swerving to the left and to the right, jumping or sliding through the grass while landing flings and jabs, Sakura was starting to feel the effects of tiredness. However, she couldn't stop. She was the one who didn't have any cards yet, after all.

Suddenly, she felt someone holding her arm and then the cold surface of a blade leaning against her neck. While she was extremely focused on defeating the clones coming at her, the real Naruto had slowly approached and trapped her.

"_Gomen, Sakura-chan…" _He sadly said, almost in a whisper. He dispelled his clones, as he no longer needed them to fight the girl. Her heart, which had before hastened, was now slowly calming down, as she realized Naruto would never do anything that would seriously harm her. _"Do you have any cards?" _He asked, holding her tighter with the thought of her escaping.

"_I don't." _She peacefully replied. He instantly let her go, which surprised her – he really trusted her. Too bad…

The blonde smirked as he took out his light card. _"Well, seems like I'll have to find that Uchiha bastard!"_

In a quick movement, she leaned forward as a tiny breeze made her hair hover and reached the card, not even giving Naruto time to flinch at the same time as she ran away as fast as she could, only leaving behind a dishonest _"Gomen, Naruto-kun…"_

**11:57 a.m.**

She didn't know how much time she had left, but she knew she had a light card, and that was more than satisfying! As she hurried through the forest, not even the slightest trickle of guilt in her soul, she wondered how many cards Sasuke had. She didn't want to take one from him at all, so she would have to find a darkness card by herself. Being a jounin, Kakashi would have hidden one card near the starting point, where no one expected it to be – or so she thought. Finding it would both allow her an easy way out of that situation and save her a lot of time.

Reaching the basis, she caught sight of the clock her _sensei_ had set earlier to immediately realize she would have to hurry the heck up! For instants, she seemed to have seen a shadow running on her left but, because she didn't really see anyone in particular, she convinced herself it had been her imagination working. Landing on the waving grass, she looked around for any suspicious spot but, a few moments after she had started her search, she was shadowed from above by someone she only a few moments later recognized.

Sasuke grabbed her by the collar and pushed her to the ground, making her fall flat on the dirt. As fast as a fire that razes a village, he put his hand on her little waist bag and drew out the card she was carrying. Before she could even react to what had just happened, the clock ringed like a panic alarm and, a split of a second later, Kakashi came out of nowhere, landing next to it.

Getting up, the girl started reasoning: her beloved gentleman had been waiting for one of his teammates to arrive to then hunt him like an animal and take away his card, showing no mercy whatsoever. If it had been Naruto, she wouldn't even be surprised, but Sasuke-kun… She couldn't believe he had done such a horrible thin-

"_I'm here, Kakashi-sensei! I'm here! I hope I'm not late…" _Naruto came running from the forest, sweat dropping down his forehead.

"_Sit down, Naruto. You too, guys." _The jounin said to the other two squad members, his hands on his pockets and his visible eye only half-opened. The wound from the fight with Sasuke was still bothering him. He fondled his leg as he wished that frustrating pain disappeared. When the kids were all sitting and focusing their attention on him, he continued. _"Well, show me your cards, will you?"_

The Uchiha proudly took out both his cards and hung them in the air, the slightest of grins in his face. On the other end, his teammates shyly looked down to the floor, having nothing to show. _"Very well, then. Did you even understand the point of this test?" _He chuckled at surprised expressions his students replied him with.

"_I did." _Naruto replied in a grumpy moan. _"On my way here I started to think: why would you want to fail one of us? That didn't make sense! So I realized that wasn't your intention. What you wanted was for us to work as a team." _Kakashi's eyes widened. The kid was more astute than he expected. _"That's why there were only two cards instead of four, wasn't it, Kakashi-sensei?"_

At that last statement of Naruto's, Sakura flinched and stared at the blonde, apparently shocked. On the other end, Sasuke just looked away. How could he have missed that? More importantly, how could have Naruto understood that?! Kakashi smiled beautifully at Naruto, receiving back a perturbed and awkward grin.

"_Very well, Naruto-kun." _The silver-haired said, resting his hands on his pockets. _"You pass!" _The whiskered boy jumped in triumph. _"However, if you threaten one of your teammates again, you'll go back to the Academy." _The now genin cringed as he remembered he had indeed almost endangered Sakura with a _kunai_.

"H-hai, Kakashi-sensei!" He said, slightly trembling.

"_Concerning you two," _The jounin glowered at the remaining kids. _"you failed this exercise."_

"_Wait a second." _Sasuke, who seemed resentful, finally opened his mouth. _"Just because Naruto was the first to talk, that doesn't mean I didn't know the answer too."_

"_Alright, alright… When did you realize the true objective of this exercise, Sasuke-san?" _The leader asked, obviously being up to something.

"_Right when you explained it, at the beginning." _Confident that it would work, Sasuke tried not to smile too much.

"_I see…" _Kakashi seemed to be immersed in thought. _"Then why did you attack Sakura-chan when she arrived here? Is that part of your concept of «teamwork»?"_

The Uchiha froze. He instantly perceived there was nothing else he could do, now. He had failed miserably. Regarding the girl, she didn't even try to make up an argument. What could she say? She really felt like to cry, though, but she wouldn't cry in front of Sasuke-kun.

**After-chapter annotation: **what did you think of the fight scenes? Did I do well? Anyway, I think you're able to guess what's coming concerning Naruto, can't you? Oh, and what did you think of the test? I'd really like you to tell me all that – I really appreciate your opinions! Also, I know this chapter was a little bit longer, but hopefully it wasn't too long…

In the next few weeks, I'll have a lot of tests at school, so if I sometimes take two weeks to upload the chapter, please try to understand.

Thank you for reading.

**Kunai: **it's one of the most common weapons. It's a black blade with a bandage-wrapped handle and a ring attached to its end.

**Senbon: **they're metal needles with a point at both ends; they can be thrown with great precision.

**Shuriken:** they're sharpened, four-pronged metal stars, useful for throwing; they're very common.

**Kage Bunshin No Jutsu: **this technique creates corporeal clones of the user.

**Henge No Jutsu: **it's used to change the user into another person or into animals, plants or inanimate objects.


End file.
